History

The Conn Smythe Trophy was introduced in 1964 by Maple Leaf Gardens Limited to honor Conn Smythe, the former owner, General Manager, and coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.[1] The centerpiece of the trophy is a stylized silver replica of Maple Leaf Gardens, the arena built under Smythe's ownership of the Maple Leafs, and their home from 1931 to 1999. Backing the arena replica is a large silver botanically-accurate maple leaf. The arena replica and leaf are set atop a square wooden foundation, the front of which bears a dedication plaque. Additional tiers below the foundation, sloping outward, contain maple leaf-shaped plates bearing the inscriptions of the winners' names.[2]

The base of the Conn Smythe Trophy has been expanded twice over the years to accommodate more winners. Although the 16 nameplates on the original base tier were filled up after 1980, a new tier was not added until the 1983-84 season. Following the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals, the 20 nameplates on the new tier were filled up, so the first nine winners' nameplates were moved up to the remaining three sides of the foundation tier, with the remaining nameplates shifted accordingly to keep the winners in chronological order. Due to the cancellation of the 2004-05 season, the trophy wasn't filled up again until 2010, after which a new tier was added, making room for 24 more names.

Though the award rewards a player who performed particularly well over the entirety of the playoffs, it has never been given to a player whose team did not at least reach the Stanley Cup Finals. The trophy has been awarded to members of the team that lost the Finals five times, most recently Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003, who backstopped his team's surprise run to the Finals, where they pushed the New Jersey Devils to seven games. The only skater to win the award in a losing cause is Philadelphia's Reggie Leach, who won it in 1976 as he had set a league record for most goals in the playoffs (19), which included a five-goal game in the semifinals and four goals in the Finals, even though the Canadiens swept his Flyers.[3]

The trophy had been won sixteen times each by centers and goaltenders, nine times by defensemen, seven times by right wings, and just once by a left wing (Bob Gainey of Montreal in 1979). Canadiens players have won it nine times, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburg Penguins players five times, and Oilers, Flyers, and New York Islanders players four times each. The St. Louis Blues are the only team without a Stanley Cup victory to have a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, as Glenn Hall won in 1968.

Winners

Patrick Roy, the only three-time winner and, as of 2016, the only player in NHL history to win the award with more than one team.

Bernie Parent, two-time winner and the first player to win the award in consecutive years.

Mario Lemieux, two-time winner and the second player to win the award in consecutive years.

Sidney Crosby, reigning trophy winner, and third player to win the award in consecutive years.

Borje Salming. lt's a name that conjures up many images to the fans of Canada's favorite game-the nervous first introduction of two unknown Swedish players, Salming and lnge Hammarstrom, to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the early seventies; the baiting and roughing in the NHL of a "European-style" player who emphasized skill over brute force but who wasn't afraid to mix it up with anyone on the ice; the graceful and daring shot-blocking by a big defenceman that made fans roar with delight; the chiseled features of a seemingly shy Swede who hated media interviews because he felt handicapped by his poor English; a player who survived the rigors of seventeen years of professional hockey only to retire to his homeland to continue playing for an elite Swedish team. Blood, Sweat and Hockey is the real story of the man behind those images. Told in a disarmingly frank style, it is the story of a survivor who truly loves the game. Salming tells of growing up in a tiny Swedish town with the same dream as many a boy in Canada would share, to play hockey professionally. He tells of the high standards imposed by his strict but loving brother, Stig, after their father died; of how his remarkable stature-eventually he would be 6'6" and weigh over 210 pounds- complemented his natural playing ability and allowed him a rough and tumble style of hockey that would stand him in good stead in North America; of how Stig's discipline and training of his little brother helped hone the boy's natural talents into the survival skills needed to sustain a 17-year NHL career. Salming writes about his triumphs and losses, his friends and foes on the North American and international hockey scene, and of his love of the fast- paced sport.

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